Civil-Military Relations in the Middle East: a Literature Review
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WP 2014: 5 Civil-Military Relations in the Middle East: A Literature Review Bård Kårtveit and Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) is an independent, non-profit research institution and a major international centre in policy-oriented and applied development research. Focus is on development and human rights issues and on international conditions that affect such issues. The geographical focus is Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern and Central Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. CMI combines applied and theoretical research. CMI research intends to assist policy formulation, improve the basis for decision-making and promote public debate on international development issues. Civil-Military Relations in the Middle East: A Literature Review Bård Kårtveit University of Oslo Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) WP 2014: 5 June 2014 Contents Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... iv About the authors .......................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 1 A Middle Eastern specificity? .......................................................................................................................... 2 The Civil-Military Problematique: The case of the Middle East ....................................................................... 4 Military professionalisation ................................................................................................................................. 6 Military narratives: External and internal threats ............................................................................................... 7 The persistence of military rule ...................................................................................................................... 9 The economics of military dominance in the Middle East ................................................................................ 10 The role of the military in the economy ........................................................................................................ 11 The impact of communal divides ................................................................................................................... 13 Cultural aspects and normative orientations ................................................................................................. 16 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 19 Notes ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 iii Summary In the 1950s and 1960s, a wave of military coups in the Middle East triggered extensive research on the role of military forces throughout the region. Since the early 1980s however, civil-military relations in the Middle East have been the subject of scholarly neglect. In the wake of the Arab Spring, researchers are again turning their attention to the role of the armed forces and their impact on social and political developments in the Middle East. Like earlier scholars, researchers are concerned with understanding under what conditions armed forces are likely to intervene in politics and overrule civilian authorities, or willingly withdraw from politics and “return to the barracks.” In addition, a new generation of researchers seeks to explore under what circumstances, and by what means, military forces are willing to defend authoritarian regimes against popular uprisings. The events of early 2011 encouraged a strong focus on dramatic moments of revolutionary change. More recent developments stress the need to examine the role of military forces in the slow-grinding processes of everyday politics, beyond the sudden fall of autocratic leaders. About the authors Bård Kårtveit is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo. His research focuses on national and religious identity politics and the position of minority communities in the Middle East. Kårtveit has conducted extensive research among Christian Palestinians in the West Bank, and currently works on a project focusing on Coptic communities in Egypt. Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert is a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). With a background in International Relations, her research focuses on humanitarian and security issues. Her doctoral thesis was devoted to the internationalization of the internal conflicts in Sudan, and her current research is on the Mediterranean region and EU border surveillance efforts. This CMI Working paper is a publication from the project Everyday Maneuvers: Military - Civilian Relations in Latin-America and the Middle East. The project explores the historical, cultural and political ties between military actors and civilians, and is financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Project leader: Nefissa Naguib. Project coordinator and editor: Iselin Åsedotter Strønen. iv CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: CMI WORKING PAPER WP 2014: 5 A LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Why did Middle East scholars miss the Arab Spring? In an article posing this question, F. Gregory Gause III (2011) argued that, for the past two decades, Middle East researchers have shown little interest in studying the role of the military in Arab politics, making them poorly equipped to understand recent political processes in the region.1 This claim is supported by other scholars who contend that Arab militaries, and their role in Arab societies, have received little scholarly attention.2 The events of the last few years have further demonstrated the need for thorough studies and analyses of the security sector in Arab countries, and of the relationship between armed forces and civilian actors. This report seeks to provide an overview of existing studies on military forces and civil-military relations in the Middle East, present important scholarly debates, identify important gaps in the literature, and highlight central topics for further research, focusing on Arab countries. However, due to its historical ties to the Arab world, and its distinct history of civil-military relations, some literature on Turkey will be included as well. The analysis of civil-military relations is well-established as a field of study within political science, but draws on insights from related disciplines such as history, anthropology and sociology as well. While some contributions to the scholarly debate discuss civil-military relations specifically, others include it as part of a broader discussion on colonial history, nationalism, state formation and state structures. It should be mentioned here that while part of the literature specifically addresses the role of the military, other portions of it include in their scope the broader security apparatus, as excluding it often makes little sense in the context of highly securitised regimes. Studies of civil-military relations in the Middle East include both the contributions discussing the topic of civil-military relations specifically, either based on single cases or on broader comparisons of several cases, as well as studies of the state formation of various Middle Eastern states, where civil-military relations are a central topic. The study of civil-military relations is closely intertwined with processes of transition from one system of governance to another, whether through military coups, or through non-violent political reforms, and with democratisation more generally. A central characteristic of democratic regimes is the civilian control over the military, while a prominent characteristic of authoritarian rule and dictatorships is the direct military rule, or heavy military influence, over civilian institutions of government.3 Therefore, studying civil-military relations is one way of investigating different degrees of democracy versus authoritarianism. Examining the evolution in the relationship between the civilian and the military sectors of society also addresses processes of democratisation, or processes of return to more restrictive forms of governance. In the following, we will present a brief review of earlier works on militaries in the Middle East, with a special focus on the “civil-military problematique.” This will be followed by a look at ongoing debates about the persistence of authoritarian rule, and the military’s hold on political power and economic resources within their national borders. Finally, we will look at how scholars have addressed communal identities and their impact on civil-military relations, before discussing socio- cultural issues as a neglected field within studies on militaries in the Middle East. 1 CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: CMI WORKING PAPER WP 2014: 5 A LITERATURE REVIEW A Middle Eastern specificity? Since the late 1980s, scholars have tried to explain the lack of democratisation, and the persistence of authoritarian regimes throughout the Middle East. In a widely cited article, Eva Bellin (2004) shows how this phenomenon has been addressed in earlier scholarship, before seeking alternative explanations